The SS Dirlewanger Brigade: The History of the Black Hunters

Not an easy subject to find reading matter on, this man and his actions are so reviled it is almost taboo just to say his name. Child sex pervert, ex convict, utterly cruel and heartless, Oscar Dirlewanger is like very few others in the nazi ranks, even in the highest ranks of the SS this man caused horror and revulsion at his methods, even to people such as Reinhard Heidrich who is widely regarded as the most dangerous and evil nazi out of the entire bunch, named The Man With The Iron Heart by Hitler and remebered as The Butcher of Prague, the mere idea that the man who came up with The Final Solution could be horrified at the actions of another man alone speaks volumes of Dirlewangers methods. Killing became a pure competition to see who can kill the most unarmed civilians in a day and the numbers he attained is simply mind numbing. I know we should never judge a book by its cover (yes pun intended) but look at Dirlewangers face, look into those eyes and tell me that is not the face of a total creep! Anyone such as myself who has researched WW2 in the depths I have over 30 plus years, understands that despite their atrocious label, not all members of the SS were as brutal and evil as many believe, not to defend the actions of the SS of course, I am not a neo-nazi, just a guy interested in military history. Some of the worst war crimes committed by the Germans were at the hands of SS regiments such as Das Reich (Oradour), Leibstandarte (Wormhout) and of course the utterly evil Totenkopf who ran the camps but I would bet that the vast majority of the hideous things people think of when hearing of the Schutz Staffel was actually undertaken by Oscar Dirlewanger and his Black Hunters. Feared like no other Einsatzgruppen in the Eastern Front this man met a horrible but deserved fate yet sadly cheated the hangman. I know its a cliche but this guy was literally Satan in the flesh, it is genuinely hard to comprehend the mind of a man who can do what he did yet sleep like an innocent baby at night. Some hard reading for many but for those with a deeper interest in the actions of the SS and particularly the Einsatzgruppen this book is a must. Very highly recommended.

Looking forward to reading. It's a quality product at an excellent price

IMHO Better than the one * given to it here. There is only one decent source on Direlwanger in English and that is "The Cruel Hunters" by Maclean The Cruel Hunters - S.S.Sonderkommando Dirlewanger: Hitler's Most Notorious Anti-Partisan Unit (Schiffer Military History) . I also have that and feel this book complements it well. I would say that the early period is not brillianly covered but that is down to a genuine lack of source material. This book still has more than Maclean on that time and covers the history of the unit well and fills some gaps. It is not a list of actions and accounts (but watch "Come and See" and you will know all you need to about it's modus operandi Come and See [DVD ]) and I don't think a list and details of it's countless atrocities would help. It does have some good personal stuff and I found that interesting and also info on the period when it was a Waffen SS "Division". On the downside it can be a hard read, partly due to the psychological analysis and partly due to the fact it was not written in English. I'm not criticising the translation but it can be dry at times. I'm not sure I agree with all the authors conclusions but there are interesting theories put forward and they are well worth considering. It could have scored higher with more detail but bearing in mind the size of the unit (at the start it's no more than 150 men in an Army of pushing 2 million on the Eastern Front) I don't know if that information actually exists. A hard read but overall worth the effort.

The book is good and easy to read. its subject is not. When I went to uni back in 1970 Oscar was teeated as an anti hero. He certainly wouldn't have had thet label had I known of her liking for injecting jewish girls with strychnine and timing how long it took them to die. The guy was a sick bastard.

No, they were't a group of Accountants, but this was a War.. Ask yourself what happens in current places of unrest... is it really any different? I approve of books like this. But if you read it, think about how life was for these men and whether they had any other real options to their own survival.....

enjoyed reading this book

It is a rambling sociological treatise. You'll have little idea of who who was there, where they were, or how they were organised and equipped. The author repeatedly tells us that they were nasty people but you know that already.

It brings out how bad things were when someone who's a psychopath can lead a group of ex-cons together to do a job no others could do.

If you are interested in military aspects, this book is not very helpful. It is great however, if you are interested in anthropology and psychology. It deals with the reasons behind the violence, how the unit saw itself, how others saw it, and how this Brigade developed its peculiar “ personality”. It is a good work, trying to establish a relationship between war and hunting. Good perspective on violence.

Gruesome, but necessary read.

There are some really engaging concepts in this book, a new exploration of an old theme. The inherent drive within humans to hunt and to be hunted appears in this most unobvious phase of history. Very good insights.

There are few books that can equal the depth of research information and manner that the author is able to present it!!!!!!! The author presents the broad spectrum of events, Historical,Political,Economic, Military, in Europe that created the circumstances that then led to the organization of this gang of military cowards, criminals, convicts that then was allowed to commit such acts of terror, torture, and indiscriminate killing. The atrocities committed are described , in the sweeping Historical Context and Perspective that is unmatched by any other author. In this Grand Study, the author explains events , advancements, in War, from Russo-Japan War, WW 1, and the social economic extremes until outbreak of WW2. The author pieces together chronologically thru extensive EFFORT, scattered reports , records, and any other information, into a complete study the evolving process of the War from the differing Military, Political Economic and Personalities aspects , the author manages to combine these differing factors together , from Historical overview down to tactics involved in precise detail. The First Section of the book covers the Operations the Dirlewanger Brigade participated in, Section 4 covers tactics of the Brigade in Warsaw, usually tank supported , without any special weapons such as robot tanks or what the Germans called Goliaths. The Brigades last actions, from Divisional Reports , are recounted, at Ipolysag, and finally near Berlin in the Halbe Pocket where most of the Brigade was wiped out, The Ipolysag episode , was the Brigades Combat Debut taking place 50 miles N of Budapest in December 1944. The events do not appear in any detail in other Eastern Front accounts, and is just one example of the detailed information the author takes the time to include and explain. Ipolysag or Sahy on the Ipel River is located 50 miles N or Budapest , in Slovakia, the terrain described as hilly , valleys , forested, rivers and canals ,was a KEY Strategic position during the battle to surround Budapest. The Soviet 6th Guards Army took Ipolysag after Dirlewanger , who could not control the military rejects under his command disappeared, and the Battalion ordered to hold the area sent one company placed in a skirmish line that did not stop the Russians The study revolves around the course of History and Historical events , and how those events combined into a War of extremes of criminal acts of killing that continued to escalate into organization of such Brigades.

Christian Ingrao is an historian who knows his field of study. He has my utmost respect as I know other work he did that was quite on point. This book that he wrote however is more about the relation hunter/prey that this group of former poachers had toward their victims. The book doesn't explore a lot of details but constantly hammers this theory, that this group of killer was driven in the same way they were driven when hunting. This theory isn't necessary wrong but the book doesn't explore much else. If that theory about the motivations and behavior of this band of criminals interests you, it might fall more in your alley than it did with me.